The present invention relates to apparatus for stabilizing articles being carried in a pickup truck.
As is well known, pickup trucks are working vehicles employed for transporting a wide variety of articles and materials, and of widely varying configurations. Examples include lumber; round or tubular articles such as poles, electrical conduit; pipes; ladders; and power-operated equipment with handles, such as mowers. In addition to transporting loads, pickup trucks, when parked at work sites, are sometimes employed, with the tailgate down, as work benches, since they provide a stable surface at a convenient height.
A common problem when carrying cargo is shifting of the cargo, which can cause damage to the cargo as well as the pickup truck itself. While such is a particular problem with tubular items, a wide variety of loads are subject to shifting during transport.
Accordingly, various solutions have been proposed in the prior art. Examples include the systems of Barnes U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,578 and Bartkus U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,165, which employ adjustable cross members within the bed of a pickup truck for load stabilizing and restraining purposes. The systems of these two patents are generally intended for stabilizing relatively compact, upright loads which sit within the bed of the pickup truck. While likely effective for such purposes, the systems of the Barnes and Bartkus patents are fairly specialized for their intended loads, and relatively complex. Another disadvantage is that the stabilizing systems, if left installed, tend to interfere with other uses of the pickup truck.
As another example, Christopher U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,849 discloses a rather different form of stabilizer for articles carried within a pickup truck bed, particularly long articles such as lumber which may extend past the end of the bed, with the tailgate down or removed. Christopher thus employs a transverse member extending across the truck bed near the front thereof, and pressing downwardly. The Christopher device likewise is relatively specialized, and somewhat complex.